Ark of the Covenant Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free ark of the covenant Sunday school lesson teaches kids that God wants to meet with His people. God told Moses to make an ark of shittim wood, overlaid "with pure gold, within and without" (Exodus 25:11), with rings and staves to carry it, the testimony inside, and a mercy seat of gold on top. Then God said, "there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat" (25:22). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a Make It Like Mine block game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("There I will meet with thee") with a motion, and a gold box to draw.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 4 pages: a Carry It by the Poles game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Out of the Box memory verse game, and a Draw the Ark activity.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 4 pages: kids mark out the real size of the ark in cubits, then look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the pattern, the ark, the rings and staves, the testimony, the mercy seat and the cherubims), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Exodus 25:8–22 out loud themselves, then discuss doing things after God's pattern, being the same inside and out, God's law and mercy in one place, and coming boldly to the throne of grace. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Exodus 25:22 and 25:9).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Exodus 25:10–22
• Main point: God wants to meet with His people, and we do things God's way.
• Memory verse: Exodus 25:22 (KJV), with Exodus 25:9 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: carrying a box on poles, copying a pattern, or marking out the ark's real size, depending on the age.
2. Bible story: God gives Moses the pattern in the mount (Exodus 24:18; 25:9), the ark of shittim wood overlaid with gold (25:10–11), four rings and two staves (25:12–15), the testimony inside (25:16), the mercy seat and the two cherubims (25:17–21), and God's promise to meet with His people (25:22). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Exodus 25:22.
5. What this means for us: God came to dwell with us in Jesus (John 1:14), the gospel (Acts 2:38), we can come boldly to find mercy (Hebrews 4:16), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the ark of the covenant craft, a Draw the Ark activity, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the ark of the covenant

• Play the carrying game first. Kids remember the rings and staves (Exodus 25:12–15) when they have carried a box on poles themselves.
• Bring the cubit to life: the ark was about 45 inches long and 27 wide and high. Tape it out on the floor.
• The word "covenant" isn't in Exodus 25; there it is "the ark of the testimony" (25:22). The Bible later calls it "the ark of the covenant of the LORD" (Numbers 10:33).
• The cherubims in Exodus 25 are two figures of gold with wings on the ends of the mercy seat (25:18–20). Stay with what the text says.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.